Nationals: nearly dominant

(NOTE: I've got a lot of catching up to do, so here's a quick run-down of how the Nationals fared from May through July.) After nearly four months of play this year, the Washington Nationals continue to perform very, very well -- most of the time. The recent acquisition of two top-caliber relief pitchers (see below) has patched the main glaring weakness in their roster, but there are other potential vulnerabilities as well.

The Nats went on a nine-game road trip following the All-Star break, and won seven games. Not bad at all. The Nats swept the Reds in a four-game series in Cincinnati, and then split a two-game series with the Angels in Anaheim, and then took two out of three games from the Diamondbacks in Phoenix. Bryce Harper has been on a big rebound (currently a 17-game hitting streak), raising his home run total to 25. Anthony Rendon has been erasing any doubts as to whether he should have made the All-Star team, raising his batting average to .318. Meanwhile, Daniel Murphy is holding his own at the top of the batting average rankings, while Ryan Zimmerman has cooled off after a torrid first two months of the season. But four Nationals players are still in the top ten, in terms of batting average, and that is pretty darned impressive.

As for the postseason, the Nationals' main hope is that "anything can happen" in October.

Nats bullpen gets relief

The Nationals recently acquired veteran relief pitchers Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle in a trade with the Oakland A's, giving up Blake Treinen, some prospects, and perhaps some cash. Thus far, Doolittle has been the closer. Those two pitchers have helped the bullpen stabilize, and so far they have not blown any saves. Whew! But with Joe Ross out for the season (Tommy John surgery) and Stephen Strasburg taken out of the game after two innings on Monday, now it's the starting rotation that is looking vulnerable. Edwin Jackson did just fine in his first start last week, but in the Nats' 8-0 loss to the Brewers last night, he was a disaster. There may be more big deals before the trade deadline.

Nat stars shine at All-Star Game

Although five members of the Washington Nationals were selected for the 2017 All-Star Game, only four of them ended up playing. All four were in the starting lineup, and all four did their part. Max Scherzer mowed down the three batters he saw in the top of the first, but was unfortunately replaced after that. Ryan Zimmerman had a big chance in the inning, but grounded into a double play. In the fourth inning, he hit a towering fly ball to the warning track in center field, which was caught by . Nolan Arenado tagged up at first base but was easily thrown out at second; not very smart. For his part, Bryce Harper hit a single and took a walk in his second and last plate appearance, plus he made a great diving catch in left field. (That made me nervous.) Daniel Murphy also got a hit, but didn't score either. Stephen Strasburg didn't get a chance to pitch, but might have if the game had gone into the 11th inning.The American League scored a run in the fifth inning, and the National League tied it two innings later.

Last year, four Nationals were chosen, but only one (Bryce Harper) was in the starting lineup. Last year it seemed there were too many Chicago Cubs and Boston Red Sox being chosen as All Stars, and this year the same could be said about the Washington Nationals and Houston Astros.

2017 All-Star Game Starting Rosters

Position

National League

American League

My pick

Actual

My pick

Actual

C

Buster Posey (SF)

Buster Posey (SF)

Salvador Perez (KC)

Salvador Perez (KC)

1B

Ryan Zimmerman (WSH)

Ryan Zimmerman (WSH)

Jose Abreu (CWS)

Justin Smoak (TOR)

2B

Daniel Murphy (WSH)

Daniel Murphy (WSH)

Jose Altuve (HOU)

Jose Altuve (HOU)

3B

Anthony Rendon (WSH)

Nolan Arenado (COL)

Miguel Sano (MIN)

Jose Ramirez (CLE)

SS

Zack Cozart (CIN)

Zack Cozart (CIN)

Carlos Correa (HOU)

Carlos Correa (HOU)

OF

Bryce Harper (WSH)

Bryce Harper (WSH)

Avisail Garcia (CWS)

George Springer (HOU)

OF

Charlie Blackon (COL)

Charlie Blackon (COL)

Aaron Judge (NYY)

Aaron Judge (NYY)

OF

Marcell Ozuna (MIA)

Marcell Ozuna (MIA)

Mike Trout * (LAA)

Mookie Betts (BOS)

DH

Giancarlo Stanton (MIA)

Giancarlo Stanton (MIA)

Corey Dickerson (TB)

Corey Dickerson (TB)

P

--

Max Scherzer (WSH)

--

Chris Sale (BOS)

* = on disabled list during All-Star Game.
SOURCE: Washington Post

Happy 4th of July in Washington!

As usual, the game in Washington on July 4 started early -- at 11:05 AM -- and from start to finish it was a very Happy Fourth for the home town fans. The Nats beat the Mets 11-4, as Daniel Murphy continued to torment his old teams, going four for five with five RBIs. One year ago, when the Nats lost to the Milwaukee Brewers on July 4, I presented a table I summarized all the 4th of July baseball games played by the Nationals. The Nats' record in 4th of July games at home is now 8-4.

It was also a Happy 7th of July, although it was very nearly the huge letdown. The Nats gave up five runs in the bottom of the ninth inning, barely holding on to a 10-7 win over the Reds. Those games illustrated in sharp contrast both the good side and the bad side of the Washington Nationals this year, showing why their prospects for going deep into the postseason this October are rather shaky. otherwise-dominant

As of July 25, the Washington Nationals are 11 1/2 games ahead in the NL East race, but they really should be doing better. Right now the Nats are 59-39, or .604. I have updated the Washington Nationals page with data through the end of May, when they were 33-19.

Jayson Werth has been on the DL much longer than expected. Hopefully he will be back in the lineup by August.

After Nats take 4-2 lead in the 7th, blown save by Blake Treinen, who takes the loss.

This table shows games in which the Nationals gave up the lead during the ninth inning and then lost the game, including games that went into extra innings. Home team is underlined. It is taken from a table on the Washington Nationals

Elsewhere in the majors...

How about them Houston Astros!? A couple years ago there was a rising star named Jose Altuve, but little else, and now they are far and away the best team in the American League. (I'm still having a hard time adjusting to their switch from the National League.)

And who is Mike Judge? Seldom if ever has a Rookie of the Year Award been decided so far in advance. After a red-hot first half of the season, he has slowed down a little, so breaking the 50-home run mark is now in doubt. But there is still a very good chance that he will lead the Yankees into the postseason, filling the void left by Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, and Robinson Cano.

The World Champion Chicago Cubs (!!??) had a disappointing first half of the season, and currently in a neck-and-neck race with the Milwaukee Brewers for first place in the NL Central. The Brew Crew smashed the Nationals 8-0 last night, ending a recent tail spin. The Cardinals and Pirates aren't far behind, so that race could prove to be interesting.

Whither "Mount Davis"?

Now that the Raiders have committed to leaving Oakland, in favor of Las Vegas, the question arises of what is to be done with the monstrosity looming above center field that was constructed specifically to lure them back from L.A.? "Mount Davis," named after long-time Raiders owner Davis, Mike Zurawski drew my attention to this article at newballpark.org, casting doubt on any short-term fix to the big mess. But just in case, I thought it would be interesting to contemplate a large-scale renovation to Oakland Coliseum, and my new hypothetical diagram on that page shows the lower deck being completely rebuilt and moved closer to the infield. In other words, it would resemble the standard "paired swivelable circular section lower deck" (PSCSLD) configuration from the era of "cookie-cutter" stadiums. Fat chance? Probably so.

Dept. of Corrections

In my April 21 blog post I mentioned "Adam Eaton, formerly of the Padres..." Well, of course he is formerly of the White Sox, as I noted in my February 19 blog post. D'oh!!! Obviously, I got his name mixed up with that of Derek Norris, who was slated to become the Nats' primary catcher until they got Matt Wieters to sign a one-year contract in March.

Hockey news: NOT fake!

Speaking of corrections, I should know better than to write anything at all about hockey (see June 15, 2009, for example), but with the Washington Capitals coming oh-so-close winning the second-round in the Stanley Cup playoffs, I just can't help myself. The Caps lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who ended up repeating as winners of the coveted trophy.

Blog highlights have been compiled for the years 2010-2012 thus far, and eventually will be compiled for earlier years, back to 2002.

Explanation

The "home made" blog organization system that I created was instituted on November 1, 2004, followed by several functional enhancements in subsequent years. I make no more than one blog post per day on any one category, so some posts may cover multiple news items or issues. Blog posts appear in the following (reverse alphabetical) order, which may differ from the chronological order in which the posts were originally made: